Srinagar: A Srinagar-based lawyer, Aamir Rasheed Masoodi has filed a Right to Information (RTI) application seeking details of Gujarati conman Kiran Bhai Patel's travel, accommodation and security expenses while he was impersonating a PMO official in Kashmir.
Speaking to ETV Bharat on the phone, advocate Masoodi said, "Recently it has come to light that Danish Ahmed Dar, a resident of Srinagar's Rambagh area, was also duped by this Gujarati conman and took about Rs 18 lakh. He was told that he was being given a partnership in a big company, but it was all a hoax."
He further said, "This made me think why not file an RTI to find out who he (Kiran Patel) has cheated and with whose help all this was possible." Through his submission, Masoodi has also tried to find out who Patel met and which department bore the expenses and how much was spent. He also sought the names of the government employees posted in Kashmir who held meeting with him during his misadventure.
In his RTI he stated that he seeks to know, "Details of total amount spent on accommodation, transportation and other expenses" of Patel on his last two visits to Kashmir valley, the "details of the concerned department which has paid the whole amount on behalf of Patel Kiran Bhai on his last two visits to Kashmir valley" and the "name of government officials posted in Kashmir who had meetings with Patel Kiran Bhai on his last two visits to Kashmir."
Earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir administration ordered an investigation into various aspects related to the visits of Kiran Patel from Gujarat to Kashmir and the security arrangements made during his visit during the past months. Patel was arrested by the police from a five-star hotel in Srinagar for posing as 'Additional Secretary' in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and taking advantage of security besides hospitality.
On his arrest in Srinagar, FIR No. 19 of 2023 was registered against him at Police Station Nishat for engaging in activities with criminal intent and using fake means.
